
Lucy's discovery marked a critical moment in our understanding of the origins of humanity-and of Ethiopia's place at the heart of this story. Many other important fossils have since been discovered in the same Afar region—including by Yohannes Haile-Selassie, one of Ethiopia's leading paleoanthropologists and the director of the Institute of Human Origins at Arizona State University (ASU) in the US. His two Ardipithecus discoveries in the 1990s-while still a student-pushed understanding of our ancient origins back beyond 5 million years, changing some of the widely accepted beliefs about human evolution.
Yet in this interview, Haile-Selassie is critical that the study of ancient humans still fails to acknowledge and support the fundamental role of African scientists and institutions. Like many of his colleagues, he is now calling for paleoanthropology to be "decolonised", warning that otherwise, some African countries could take action to restrict future exploration of key sites across the continent:
Yohannes, you were a 14-year-old schoolboy in Ethiopia when Lucy was discovered. What are your memories of this landmark moment in your country’s history?
In fact, on the day Lucy was found —Sunday, November 24, 1974— Ethiopians woke up to some other devastating news. The previous night, Ethiopia’s military regime had executed more than 60 ministers and generals of Emperor Haile-Selassie’s regime. The announcement of Lucy’s discovery probably came up later that week, but I doubt many people paid attention to it amid all the turmoil, with the military regime taking control of Ethiopia.
Personally, I have no recollection of the announcement of Lucy’s discovery. I grew up in a Christian family, so as far as I knew at that time, it was God who created humans and I wouldn’t have understood the significance of Lucy.
This story is from the January 16, 2025 edition of Down To Earth.
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This story is from the January 16, 2025 edition of Down To Earth.
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